


lullaby

by oiyukis



Series: Infinitus Elysium [2]
Category: Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
Genre: Background characters - Freeform, JuHaku Week 2k15, M/M, alternate universe - AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-18
Updated: 2015-02-18
Packaged: 2018-03-13 13:47:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3383888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oiyukis/pseuds/oiyukis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There is something sleeping inside Hakuryuu.</p>
            </blockquote>





	lullaby

**Author's Note:**

> Glossary! 
> 
> Akuma: [machines](http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb223/youngaxel/31ch1-1.jpg) made from a human soul and tragedy, summoned by the Earl to wreak havoc on the world.  
> Noah: a race of humans that can control the Akuma, that have the memory of the "original" Noah from Biblical times, and the Apostles. They can regenerate themselves, but they can be killed. They are the natural enemy of Exorcists, under the rule of the Millennium Earl, or in this case, Ill Ilah.  
> Exorcists: those that can defeat the Akuma  
> Innocence: special weapons that can defeat the Akuma, will react to the presence of Akuma once they reveal themselves. 
> 
>  
> 
> For THIS AU:  
> Hakuryuu's [Uniform](http://41.media.tumblr.com/92fdcba1e93559a9a4310bedced37f71/tumblr_nj5rlwJzUr1u03sz8o5_r1_540.png)  
> Hakuryuu's Djinn are his Innocence, and people can have more than one.  
> Judar has [Tyki Mikk's](http://oiyukis.tumblr.com/post/108604401248/tyki-mikk-the-pleasure-of-noah) powers  
> Ill Ilah is essentially the Millennium Earl
> 
> Song Lyrics From!  
> [The Musician](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p347HTRkbTk), an important lullaby in the universe of D.Gray-Man
> 
> * * *

 

 

 

_and so the boy_

_fell asleep_

_dreaming many thousands of dreams_

 

In the crowded room of the lodge they’re staying in for the night Hakuryuu feels utterly alone. He’s sharing a bed with two others, an Exorcist and a Finder, and the second bed is being split between another four people. He isn’t overly familiar with any of them—they’re all from different branches, relocated to Central HQ after the council had decided to bring everyone under one roof.  

“It’s strange that they’ve all disappeared,” Titus—if Hakuryuu remembers correctly, since they’d all briefly introduced themselves at the station—says to Olba.

“It’s for the best,” Olba yawns, stretching out and taking up most of the room on the bed. Hakuryuu isn’t sure how they’re all going to fit at this rate. He isn’t unused to sharing space, but seven people sleeping in a room not much bigger than his cramped bedroom at headquarters isn’t doing him any favors.

“It’s like they’ve all run off,” Titus says. “Akuma don’t run off. They’re machines made to cause chaos, so why—”

“Seriously, take it as a good thing.” Olba waves his arm, the hook-shaped anti-Akuma weapon gleaming in the lamplight. “It’s not every day we get a vacation.”

“We _don’t_ ever get a vacation,” Titus says.

“Exactly.”

Hakuryuu stands abruptly, causing both Titus and Olba to jolt in response. He wonders if they’d thought he was sleeping with his eyes open—according to Aladdin, that's one of the many little rumors floating around about him.

Hakuryuu doesn’t understand why other exorcists are so interested in his personal life. He keeps it private for a reason. Apparently, though, not eating in the cafeteria with the rest of the Order and preferring meditation to group sparring means he isn’t a team player, and therefore usually ends up being whispered about, no matter how little the whisperers actually know about him.

Olba recovers first, when Hakuryuu reaches the door. “Where are you going, Ren?”

Hakuryuu glances over his shoulder. “Alexius is right. The lack of activity is suspicious. I’m going to gather information.”

“Without your weapon?”

Hakuryuu looks at the corner where Zagan rests against the wall. He puts a hand to his side, where Belial is concealed beneath his uniform. “It’s reconnaissance. I only need one.”

Olba stares at him for a moment. “Oh, right. You have two.”

It’s relatively unheard of for exorcists to be able to wield two anti-Akuma weapons, given the toll that Innocence can take on the body and mind. Hakuryuu knows most people chalk it up to his bloodline, considering Kouen has three, but fewer people know how Hakuryuu actually feels about that comparison.

After a silence that lasts too long, Olba and Titus nod. “Well,” the latter says awkwardly, “be careful.”

“If you see any Noah, run,” Olba adds.

“Don’t jinx him,” Titus mutters under his breath, loud enough for Hakuryuu to catch it.

It unsettles him, despite that Olba is probably joking. Noah aren’t anything to be taken lightly. It’s because of them that the generals have closed ranks. They, and everyone at the Order, talk a big game, but at the end of the day, Noah are what really keep exorcists awake at night.

Hakuryuu swallows, turning back to the door. The uncomfortable pit in his stomach doesn’t vanish when he leaves the room, so he forces himself to ignore it.

 

  

Balbadd is the town’s name. It’s the hometown of Alibaba and Cassim, though Hakuryuu hasn’t seen either of them for several months. It’s muggy even though the sun has gone down and people still roam the streets from little girls selling flowers to old men begging for food.

Balbadd is in a sorry state. The Akuma haven’t made life easy for the town, and the Order has never installed a permanent defender in spite of the periodic requests Alibaba and Cassim make for one. It’s little more than coincidence that Hakuryuu’s group has decided to stay here for the night on their way back to headquarters.

But, as Alexius had said earlier, it's like all the Akuma have disappeared overnight, leaving behind only the destruction they had caused. In Hakuryuu’s experience, Akuma only take orders from one person.

So to speak.

As long as the person is a Noah, Akuma seem to listen, but even the Noah answer to a higher power—Ill Ilah.

Hakuryuu grits his teeth. Ill Ilah, the one responsible for the Akuma, the Noah, and every devastation suffered by the Order. Hakuyuu . . . Hakuren . . .

“Sir?”

Hakuryuu shakes himself from his thoughts, looking over his shoulder. A young girl is grasping the end of his uniform, tugging on it with soil-stained fingers. A basket full of flowers rests in the crook of her elbow, full.

“Would you like to buy a flower, sir?”

When Hakuryuu doesn’t reply, she drops her hand. He relaxes immediately, though he feels guilty for being tense in the first place. He doesn’t have abilities like Aladdin, though. He can’t see through an Akuma’s disguise. They could be anywhere, anyone . . .

Even young girls selling flowers.

“I—”

“ _I’d_ like to!”

Hakuryuu jolts at the sudden voice, facing forward. It’s impossible not to recognize the sly tone hidden in that cheerful call. Hakuryuu doesn’t really have to look to know who is now standing before him, but it’s better to have eyes on him than to let him prance around and pay no attention to it.

Judar smiles brightly, a stark contrast to the rest of his appearance. He’s full-Noah today, dressed in a sharp-looking suit with his bangs pinned back to show off the black cross markings that line his forehead like a circlet.

“Hello, Hakuryuu,” he croons as the girl rushes up to him. He talks shortly with her, buying several more flowers than Hakuryuu would have anyway, and sends her on her way with a smile.

Judar closes the distance between them with a few easy steps, hiding his mouth behind the little bouquet. “What a coincidence, finding you here. This must be fate.”

“Or my bad luck,” Hakuryuu delivers bluntly. “What do you want, Judar?”

“I just want to be with you, Hakuryuu.” Judar holds out the flowers. “Here. I got these for you.”

“I _just_ saw you buy those.”

“Details.” Judar shrugs. “They’re still for you.”

Ugh. Judar is bad enough when he’s pretending to be human, but Hakuryuu hates this side of him even more. He’s playing the role of the aristocrat and it’s nothing short of irritating. The worst part is he thinks he’s being suave.

Hakuryuu doesn’t take the flowers, side-stepping Judar and walking away.

“ _Egh_ \--!” The noise that comes from Judar is definitely not aristocratic. Good. “Hakuryuu! Wait!”

Hakuryuu doesn’t slow down as Judar catches up to him, matching their strides. “Hakuryuu, you’re so cold! And I forced the Akuma to leave and everything!”

Hakuryuu stops. “You did what?”

“I made them leave. You don’t like them, right?”

“Of course I don’t like them. But if you’re just going to let them come back when I’m gone, then—”

“Don’t worry about that.” Judar waves his hand.

“It’s my _job_ to worry about that.”

“Mm.” Judar nods, but Hakuryuu gets the feeling he doesn’t agree. “Hakuryuu—”

“Will you stop saying my name?” he snaps. “What if someone hears?”

“Well, none of your partners are patrolling. But I’d _love_ for them to hear. Then, you’d get kicked out of the Order and you’d _have_ to come to my side.”

“That’s terrible.”

“It’s the truth, and honesty is the best policy,” Judar nods, then snorts. “With you, anyway.”

“What does that mean?”

“You’re the only person I don’t lie to!”

Hakuryuu frowns. “That doesn’t really negate the rest of the bad things you do.”

“Hakuryuu,” Judar whines. “You make it sound like I only do bad things.”

“That’s true.”

“It’s not.” Judar steps behind Hakuryuu, wrapping his arms around his waist. He drapes himself over Hakuryuu’s back, lining his mouth up with Hakuryuu’s ear. “You think some of the things I do are _very_ good.”  

“Judar.” Hakuryuu escapes his grip, unable to hide the flush that springs up in his cheeks. “Did you—! Do you—! You _always_ —!”

“I always what?”

Hakuryuu crosses his arms, lowering his voice. “You always default to sex.”

Judar blinks. “Well I like having sex with you.”

Hakuryuu nearly splutters. Why is Judar so inappropriate in _public_?

“Besides, _pleasure_ is in my job description.” He stalks up to Hakuryuu, leaning forward so their lips are almost touching.  “But if you just want to talk, I’m up for that too.”

Hakuryuu takes a breath. "Then stop trying to seduce me.”

“Is that what I’m doing right now?”

They’re almost kissing at this point. To passerbys it probably looks like they already are.

“You know _exactly_ what you’re doing right now.”

“ _You_ know you can tell me to stop, if you really want me to,” Judar says, and it’s not untrue. They’ve played this game before, and without fail, Hakuryuu always stops him. “ _Do_ you want me to?”

Hakuryuu thinks about the crowded room back at the inn, full of his supposed peers. He thinks about friends he hasn’t seen in months, no thanks to at least _some_ of this guy’s actions, and the pressure of Belial against his side, dead to the world because Judar is _human_ , even if he’s not a good one.

“Hakuryuu.” Judar slides his hands up Hakuryuu’s shoulders, toying with the ends of his hair. “I want you to be with me.”

There’s a difference between that and ‘I want to be with you,’ Hakuryuu thinks, and he’s sure Judar knows it. Intends it, even.

Judar’s fingers feel nice, though, and when they’re standing this close, Hakuryuu can see every little thing he tries to ignore: that Judar’s eyes aren’t just red, but a gradient ranging from scarlet to carmine, the fine arch of his eyebrows, the length of his eyelashes.

“Hakuryuu,” Judar whispers, and it’s so unlike him that Hakuryuu flushes all over again. “You’re taking a long time.”

“Then leave,” Hakuryuu says back, voice just as soft. Around them, the world has gone quiet, not bold enough to intrude upon their shared space.

“I’d rather kiss you.”

Hakuryuu swallows. He almost pulls away to glance up and down the street, but he doesn’t. “Then do that.”

Luckily, Judar doesn’t have to be told twice (Hakuryuu isn’t sure he’d be able to say it again). He brings his hands back to cup Hakuryuu’s jaw, tilting his head to the side. He presses their lips together with a certain gentleness that surprises Hakuryuu, given Judar’s nature. That makes it easy to relax against him, makes it easy to open his mouth when Judar wants to deepen the kiss.

It makes it easy to forget they’re very much in public until—

Judar’s hands wander, playing with one of the buttons on Hakuryuu’s uniform.

“What are you doing?” he manages to ask between kisses.

“Hm?”

Hakuryuu shifts, stepping out of Judar’s hold. “We’re standing in the middle of the street.”

Judar wipes his thumb across his bottom lip, staring at Hakuryuu with dark eyes. “So?”

“So . . . don’t you have a room around here or something?”  

Judar’s eyes brighten, though the . . . the _want_ in them doesn’t fade (and that’s hard to come to terms with, that someone wants him as badly as Judar seems to). “I do.”

“Then . . . take me there.” Hakuryuu nearly stumbles over his choice of words. He throws in “idiot” for good measure.

Judar takes Hakuryuu’s hand, pulling him close again. “Follow me, then.”

Judar doesn’t move, though. He stares at Hakuryuu, waiting for a response, tracing circles over his skin with his thumb.

Hakuryuu doesn’t glance down at their hands. He doesn’t think about how Judar, his _enemy_ , is the first person to touch him so softly in years.

“Okay.”

 

 

By the time Hakuryuu wakes up, the sun has risen high enough to shine through the impressively thick curtains. The grog of sleep sticks to him as he shifts around, trying to find a good angle where the light isn’t bothering him.

It takes a few moments for the world to right itself in his mind. His limbs feel sore, like he’s used his muscles in ways they aren’t use to being used. He’s already starting to sweat, just from the heat that’s settled into the room overnight, but he doesn’t feel particularly dirty.

Hakuryuu opens his eyes, squinting until they adjust, and looks around. Judar lies on his side, still asleep from what Hakuryuu can tell. His eyes are closed, breath coming slow and even, and his hair is spilling over the sheets, let free from the usual braid.

Inadvertently, Hakuryuu had turned to face him when he was trying to block out the sun, and his shadow shields Judar’s face from the same light. Hakuryuu swallows dryly. Judar looks content, not out to cause destruction or kill—

Hakuryuu stops that thought before it can properly start.

Instead, he reaches over, brushing Judar’s bangs from his forehead to reveal his Noah-markings. They’re not like traditional stigmata, etched into the skin by some higher power and left to heal. The only decent comparison is that they look like they’ve been drawn on by some skilled artist, or reverent priest.

Hakuryuu traces the largest cross, the one in the center of Judar’s forehead. He’s surprised to find the skin just slightly raised, even though they aren’t scars. Unlike his own scarred skin, the stigmata isn’t rough.

(His own scar is rough, jagged, hated, but that hadn’t stopped Judar from touching it, from pressing his lips to each patch of discolored skin, until Hakuryuu had ordered him to _get on with it already_.)

Hakuryuu pulls his hand away, sitting up. It’s far past time for him to go. He wonders if the others even bothered to wait for him to show up before heading back to the Order, or if they’d just taken off.

“Where are you going?”

Hakuryuu glances back down, not entirely surprised to see Judar’s eyes completely void of sleep.

“ . . . back to the Order.” Hakuryuu gets out of the bed, trying not to be overly conscious of his own nudity. He starts picking up his clothes, dressing slowly.

Judar watches him from the bed, expression pensive. He doesn’t offer any comments until Hakuryuu is fully clothed, securing his Innocence inside the flap of his jacket.

“Why don’t you just stay here, Hakuryuu?”

“No.”

“I mean, why not?”

Hakuryuu pauses. “You’re actually asking?”

Judar hums, confirming.

“Because . . . I’m an exorcist. I belong with the Order.”

“According to who?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean according to who?” Judar moves closer to the edge of the bed. “Who says you can’t stay here that actually cares about what you do? Your Order just wants to use you until you break.”

Hakuryuu is tired of having this argument. “And what do you want to do, Judar?”

“I just want to be with you.”

“But why?”

“I thought that was obvious.” Judar blinks at him. “I love you.”

Hakuryuu inhales sharply, turning away. He doesn’t want Judar to see how red his cheeks grow from the words, or how much . . . how easily three little words can get under his skin.

He doesn’t want Judar to watch him as he tries not to think of lonely dinners in his room, not because he wants to be alone but because nobody seems to want him around. He doesn’t want Judar to watch him as he tries not to think about how few friends he has among the hundreds of members the Order has.

He doesn’t want Judar to see him thinking about the offer, because if he does, Judar will have him, and Hakuryuu doesn’t know if he wants that just yet.

Or, perhaps more accurately, he doesn’t know if he wants Judar to know he _already_ has him just yet.

“I’m going back to the Order.”

“Ah? But, Hakuryuu—!”

Hakuryuu doesn’t stay long enough for Judar to finish. He all but runs from the room, only stopping when he’s put a few floors between them, as if Judar would be able to hear his pounding heart otherwise.

 

 

Judar flops back on the sheets as the door closes behind Hakuryuu, scowling up at the ceiling. Damn. He could have sworn . . . why is Hakuryuu making this so hard? He _knows_ Hakuryuu is unhappy at the Order, since more people are starting to consider having the generals replace the council. He knows Hakuryuu doesn’t want to be taking orders from Ren Kouen, or even that first-class singularity Ill Ilah hates so much.

So why—?

Well. There’s nothing he can do to hurry the process along more than he already has. All of his cards are on the table. Judar has answered all his questions, and not once has he ever lied to him.

Hakuryuu is getting closer to accepting things. To coming over to Judar’s side.

He’ll be angry, though, when he learns what’s happened overnight. When he finds out the other exorcists were attacked. That one of them died as Hakuryuu was begging for it.

But there’s something sleeping inside Hakuryuu, something dark and twisted that matches Judar so perfectly. So, even though he’ll be angry, even though he’ll hate himself for weeks, even though he’ll swear to never let his guard down around a Noah again . . .

Even while he’s doing all that, he’ll be pulling away from the other Exorcists, feeding that darkness inside him until it’s ready to burst, until it does burst, and he betrays the order or kills his friends.

Until it bursts, and he finally sees that where he belongs isn’t the Order, but by Judar’s side. And if Judar has to wait another thousand years for Hakuryuu to realize it, he’ll wait.

He’ll wait, because there’s no one else in the entire world that Judar cares about enough to want to wait for. He’ll wait because he’s always waited. He’ll wait because he loves Hakuryuu.

He’ll wait, and when Hakuryuu finally wakes up, they’ll tear down the world together: Ill Ilah, the Akuma, everything. It’s what Hakuryuu has always wanted, after all, and Judar . . .

Judar will do anything for him, always.  

 

 

 


End file.
